The work of God alone in sanctification is just as important as it is in initial salvation.  The reason that salvation is by grace alone, is to prevent boasting in man (Eph. 2:8-9).  And it is that same reason that sanctification is by grace alone.  For man to presume to have any part in it is to create a boastful heart.  It is to create in man an assumption of ability and worth that he does not possess.  It robs from the glory due to God alone and transfers some of that glory to the effort of man.

There is also the danger of “outside cup cleaning.” (Matthew 23:25-26) By working at self-improvement, through vain will-power and self-determination, a man can achieve much in the way of external morality and piety.  But because the work is not being done from the inside-out, there lies a danger in recognizing the outward cleansing and forgetting the inward impurities.  If I can stop, through my efforts, the lust of the eyes and the watching of porn, I may claim victory and move on, forgetting that lust is a heart issue.  The lust of my eyes reveals an inward impurity of discontentment and unbelief and perhaps other unknown sins.  But if I effectively remove the outward signs, I risk forgetting the inward damage.

The natural process of the born again man is that God cleanses the inside of the cup and then the outward actions naturally follow suit.  Once God produces in me contentment and belief (of the proper sort), the lust of the eyes will vanish from my life!  Once God has removed covetousness and greed, the outward actions of life no longer desire to steal and kill.  It is a natural outworking of the Spirit of God.  To reverse the order is to cause serious self-deception!

If my car dashboard starts to signal engine failure and I merely cover up the alerting light, I have deceived myself into thinking the issue is resolved.  But if the engine is fixed, the alerting light naturally follows suit and disengages.  Our outward sinful behaviors are alerts of a heart problem.  A problem that cannot be resolved through will power and effort.  It is a spiritual problem in the inner man that must be resolved by our Spiritual Mechanic, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit! 

The problem men have, is that the process is often slow and comes with much anguish as we labor and moan under the weight of our persistent sin.  To foolishly think, “I need a solution NOW,” and to take matters into our own hands, is to trust in the arm of the flesh and is to bring a curse (Jeremiah 17:5).  We need to plead with the Savior to “fix us,” and we need to struggle under the weight of the sin as we wait on the Lord to remedy our hearts.  Perhaps He is teaching us patience?  Perhaps we lack wisdom?  Perhaps we are learning to endure and to struggle?  Our God is a wise Mechanic and He knows HOW and WHEN to remove the impurities from our hearts.  We need to struggle against our sin and prayerfully seek Him to remedy the situation.  He will work in us in His perfect timing.

I want to look at several verses that show that this work of sanctification is His work and not ours.  Let me begin with Ephesians 2:10, which follows the verses on salvation being a work of God alone, so it is no surprise to find that sanctification is His as well!

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

The work of sanctification is God’s.  We are described as HIS workmanship.  What part does the clay have in forming itself into a pot?  What part does lumber have in building itself into a home?  The answer of course is none.  The WORK is done by the Potter.  The work is done by the Builder.  The materials are passive in the process.  So it is here in this verse.

We are HIS work.  He is the Builder/Potter and we are the material He is using to form.  What is it that He is producing us into?  What work is He creating in us?  Good works!  I.E. sanctification!  The work and process is His.  He performs and creates good works in us.  In the same way that a branch has no effort in creating fruit.  The branch is passive.  It is the root and the nutrient system of the roots, flowing through the branches, that produces the fruit (sanctification).  When we are saved by the pure grace of God, we are grafted into the root system of Jesus Christ.  He IS the Root that we are affixed to.  And by the flowing of the nutrient system (The Holy Spirit) into us (a work we have no part in), fruit is produced through us.  (John 15:1-8)

This verse shows that along with salvation, the very works that follow salvation (sanctification) are predetermined by God.  The work of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit, begins at salvation but continues through sanctification.  And it is through this work of the Spirit that “real trees” are revealed (Matthew 7:16-20).  If you are a true born-again Christian, the works of the Holy Spirit will be evident in you.  You cannot help but show the evidences, because it is not self-effort or will power that does it, but it is something that is done TO you.  By becoming a part of the vine system, your branch WILL start to produce fruit.  Christ has predetermined this work, and evidences it through the working out of your salvation through the works of the Spirit.

A branch properly infused and grafted onto an apple tree, WILL soon produce apples.  Not through any effort of itself, but because that is what the entire system is designed to do.  The tree and the root system deliver nutrients to the branch and fruit naturally follows.  God the Father predeterminately selected us to be grafted into His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 11:16-25).  He picks up these once dead and disconnected branches and grafts them into the Root.  The nutrient system of the Spirit starts to flow into the branch and the fruits of the Spirit naturally follow (Galatians 5:22-23).  The branch has done nothing but receive.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”

Here again we find the predeterming work of God in salvation and in sanctification!  In the beginning we were chosen by God to salvation.  And by what means does God reveal this salvation?  Through sanctification!  And what means is sanctification wrought?  Through the Spirit! 

Sanctification (the work of progressively becoming more like Jesus) is a Spirit issued work.  It is not something that we ‘do,’ but rather it is something that is done TO us, by the Spirit.  It is the means of our salvation (faith without works is dead – James 2:17).  Building off of the previous Ephesians verse, we see that when we are saved by the Spirit of God, we are brought into this predetermined work.  And the evidence of our salvation is this work being done to us and through us.  The outworking of the Spirit in our lives IS the evidence of salvation.  And it is not an “effort” thing, it is a passive thing.

Here is where the confusion comes in for some, I suspect.  As the Spirit comes into our heart and begins His work, He points out the areas where we need sanctification.  He reveals within us, sinful behaviors, thoughts and motives that cannot remain within a born again child of God.  For sin shall not dwell with God (Psalm5:4).  And so when He shows us our faults, we groan under the weight of them.  Our new nature hates them and wants them gone.  And so we strive against them, trying to game plan ways to rid ourselves of them.  But what we attack are merely the out-workings of a sinful nature.  Because the heart is tainted in coveting, impure desiring, perversion, etc., the outward actions of those impurities creates sinful behavior.  The lust entices, and then brings forth sin (James 1:14-15).  And so, grieved under the weight of our impurities, we strive against those outward behaviors.  However, the ROOT of those actions remains within the heart, a place we cannot get to!  The lusts of the old nature are deep rooted and MUST be conquered and destroyed by the Spirit!  And that is something we have no ability to do.

It is a grace of God that He reveals these impurities to us.  He shows us our sin, so that we will be burdened under them and cry out to Him for salvation!  And as He works the purifying work of sanctification in us, the glory of the victory all goes to Him!  We realize that it was nothing we did to resolve our sinful behaviors, there was nothing we COULD do.  We were DELIVERED!  We were REDEEMED!

Now, that doesn’t mean that we cannot resist the out-workings of the sinful desires.  We certainly can and should.  We should violently fight and oppose the lusts of the flesh.  But the victory is won internally, not externally.  And ALL aspects of our warfare (both external and internal) are due to Him!  He receives the glory for it!  It was His Spirit that made us aware of the issue.  It was His Spirit that caused us to hate and despise the issue.  It was His Spirit that caused us to pray for deliverance, to have the motive and energy to fight the lusts, to have the ideas and schemes on how to combat the sins, et.al.  All the glory is His!

Hebrews 13:12 “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”

I believe that my point has been sufficiently displayed, but there is one more verse to examine in order to support my position.  In this verse, we see that Jesus Christ is the Agent of sanctification.  It is not something WE do, it is something HE does.  Notice that it says, “that HE might sanctify the people.”  This reiterates that point that we are HIS workmanship.  He is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).  That makes Him both, the initiator and creator, and the processor, worker, and completer of our faith.  It is all a work that He does.  He is our Savior in fullness, not in part.  ALL of salvation, the initiation, the process (sanctification), and the completion (Phil. 1:6), are HIS work. 

The bottom line is that this is about glory.  The moment we try to say that we have any part in salvation (whether that’s the initial moment of, the process of, or the holding onto until the end of), we take from God’s glory and give it to self.  We make man a partial agent in salvation.  Our efforts thereby ‘deserve’ or accredit some semblance of worth.  This is blasphemous and injurious to the Godhead.  ALL of the credit, not just in word or idea, but in ACTUALITY, goes to Him.  We are mere branches that He has decided to have mercy on.  And in doing so, He works salvation in us and for us.  What amazing grace!

Philippians 2:12-13 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.¹³ For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

One final point here, as this verse shows the monergistic dichotomy that exists.  We are told in verse 12 to “work out” our own salvation.  This at first glance appears to lend some sort of credence to a synergistic approach to sanctification.  But upon a deeper look, it shows the opposite.  First, we are told to work “out” our salvation.  “Out” implies something that is already “in.”  Salvation is brought INTO the believer by the grace of God.  And that salvation is then evidenced through the out-working of the Holy Spirit.  Like the branch spoken of earlier, as it is connected to the vine and nutrient system, fruit is worked “out” of it’s buds.  From an external perspective, one observing the tree with no knowledge of the inner workings would say, “That branch just produced (worked out) fruit.”  But the reality is, it did nothing but receive the benefits of being connected to the vine and having the nutrients poured into it.  So it is with us.

As Christ works salvation in us, the Spirit is poured into our hearts.  The Spirit then causes us to desire holiness and righteousness.  The Spirit then causes us to love, to be patient, to be kind, etc.  The Spirit gives us the will to do these righteous actions.   The Spirit gives us the motive to do these things.  He provides the effort, the knowledge, the opportunity, etc.  It is all done by Him.  An external observer would see us acting in holiness and might say, “That person has achieved holiness.  They are “working” out love and peach and joy (if people spoke in such ways).”  But the reality is, we did nothing!  We were grafted into the Vine and the outpouring of the Spirit in us created these fruits, which then appear outwardly in our lives!  “We” worked out salvation, but it was not us, it was Him!  And that leads to the second part of these verses.

FOR.  A crucial word.  It is saying, work out your salvation BECAUSE.  Because why?  It is GOD who works “IN” you both to WILL and to DO!  It cannot get any clearer than that.  The outward works that we “do” are done BECAUSE, God has FIRST worked IN us both the will (the desire, the motive, the thoughts, etc.) and ABILITY (the actions, the responses, the movements, etc.) to do the outward actions.  God creates in us a heart that WANTS to do righteous.  Then He grants us the ability to DO said righteous activities.  And our outward actions naturally follow suit.  We have done nothing (in reality), but externally we see the fruits of righteousness!  We are passive benefactors of the benevolent love and grace of God!  It is ALL His work and He gets ALL the glory!